"AH!"
TJ gripped the sheets beneath her tightly, eyes squeezed shut and Patamon clinging to her shoulders.
The bed rocked wildly as it hurtled through the air, and the black-haired girl was terrified of their landing.
"PAT-!"
The sudden drop in altitude cut her off with a yelp, and she opened her eyes in surprise.
A large river was directly below them, flowing at a frighteningly fast pace, and her stomach seemed to drop lower.
Patamon lowered himself against her back, ears pressed down and helping grip her shirt.
Suddenly, the river fell in a waterfall, and the bed followed it sharply, catching a scream in the girl's throat.
Yelping as her legs lifted off the mattress, she pressed her clothes closer to her chest as Patamon spread his wings…
"PAT!"
The frame continued to fall, but TJ blinked as she realized she'd STOPPED dropping to the rocks below.
Looking up, she smiled at her partner, whose wings were flapping frantically to keep them both above the water.
Managing to fly them to the side of the river, he lowered her to the smooth sand before landing, looking exhausted.
"Thanks, Pat."
"No problem…"
Smiling wider, she patted his head and pulled her mid-thigh length tank top over her head.
Making sure it was in place, the young teen unfolded her jeans, wriggling into them before rolling up the legs.
Having mild trouble with her socks and sneakers, she sat back to look at the water a moment.
"…I wonder where we are…"
"I've never seen that waterfall before…"
Looking up at the building-wide expanse of falling water, TJ almost shrunk in on herself, the thundering too much for her.
She was beginning to feel like a child again, with rain and thunder keeping her awake as it struck worn brick in a violent rhythm…
"TJ?"
Blinking away the memories from her vision, she looked towards her Digimon.
"Yeah, Pat?"
"What are you thinking about?"
"…WELL…"
Remembering yells and crying and the crack of flesh meeting flesh, she shook her head.
"It's nothing."
"Okay…"
The girl stood, brushing off her clothes and grinning.
"Come on, Pat. Maybe there's something we can do…"
Patamon nodded slightly, looking a bit concerned at the worry and fear he saw in her expressive gold eyes.
"Alright…"
Looking around, TJ tried to decide which way to go…
'Meggie would know what to do…Or Tonya…'
Eyes shimmering, she rubbed at them to hold back any tears…
'Stephie would say everything's alright, and Jenny would probably make me laugh…'
She sniffled sadly…
'Lizzy would explain how we'd find the others, Mel would tell me how much fun we'll have…'
"Oh, TJ…"
The girl realized she'd begun to cry, and plopped down onto a smooth rock, starting to sob.
"I-I don't want to be alone! I-I want Meggie!"
"It's okay, TJ…" Patamon soothed, hopping up onto her lap and nuzzling her neck.
"You're never alone…You've got me, remember?"
Sniffling as the sobs began to die, she nodded…
"And I'll get us back to the others. I promise."
After a moment, TJ nodded again, smiling weakly.
"…Th-Thanks, Pat."
"Don't worry about it."
The little Digimon smiled, climbing onto her shoulder and wiping the tears away.
"It's my job, remember?"
Sniffling slightly, the black-haired girl stood up, eyes locked on the morning sun.
"Maybe we should go this way?"
"I think that's a good idea."
Starting to smile, the pair headed off to discover their surroundings, a bit of skip in their steps once more.
It took only a few hours for TJ's pace to slow, and she yawned, starting to drag her feet.
Patamon noticed immediately, intoned as he was to his partner's emotions and needs as he was, and his ears drooped.
'What would Biyomon do if Steph was tired?'
He could imagine her Digivolving, and carrying her partner into the sky to search from the air…
'If only I could Digivolve…Then I could carry her in the air and she wouldn't be tired anymore…'
TJ paused when she felt something wet hit her cheek, and looked up to see teary blue eyes.
"Oh, Pat…What's wrong?"
"I-I want to Digivolve…Th-Then we'd be able to fly away and find the others…"
"It's alright."
Pulling Patamon into her arms, TJ cradled the Digimon in the crook of her arm.
"I mean, you don't have to Digivolve for me, Pat. I love you just the way you are."
"…R-Really?"
She smiled widely, nodding.
"Of course! You're my best friend, Pat!"
Cerulean eyes widened in wonder…
"I'm your best friend?"
Even though they were bonded, the small Digimon had thought that the reason neither had changed was because feelings weren't reciprocated.
He saw TJ as his best friend, and had assumed she didn't feel as strongly…
"Why wouldn't you be? You're the best Digimon I know, and I wouldn't want to be partners with anyone else."
Starting to smile, Patamon cuddled into his partner's warmth as she continued to walk.
"I don't care if you never Digivolve or I never Spirit Evolve, because I want us to stay like this forever."
"…Thanks, TJ…"
"No problem. It's my job, too."
The trees gave way to a field, and the soft grass gave gently underfoot.
"I wonder how far we'll get before we reach water…"
"Let me check."
Patamon took to the air, hovering as far up as his wings would allow, and he scanned the horizon for water.
"I don't see any yet!"
"I guess we're pretty far…"
Landing on her head, the orange Digimon flapped his wings to stretch them.
"We should keep moving, though."
"Right…We won't get anywhere if we just stand here."
Starting at a skip once more, TJ slowed a bit on a slight slope before stumbling a bit at the foot.
"Do you think the others are looking for us, Pat?"
"I bet they are."
"Yeah…Meggie wouldn't stop looking…"
A ringing sound reached their ears, and the pair soon found the source, with blinking lights and wooden barrier.
"It's a railroad crossing."
Looking both ways, TJ tilted her head curiously.
"But I don't see a track or a train…"
"Maybe they're invisible?"
"Then we could still hear it coming and jump on! It could take us to the others!"
Eyes sharp, they waited for the sound of thundering tracks and a train whistle, deflating when the crossing opened train-free…
"I guess it's invisible AND silent, huh?"
"Come on…"
A little down-heartened, TJ continued to cross the grass, and paused as trees and bright colors came into view.
Towering above the canopy were strange, colorful, baby-toy buildings, with dazzling faces and pictures on all sides.
"Wow…What is that?"
"I don't know…"
Navigating amid trees and bushes, TJ ducked under branches and hopped over roots the size of pipes trying to find this new place.
It was so pretty and untouched, something she'd never seen before, and she couldn't wait to explore.
The trees stopped suddenly, and ground gave away to marshmallow-soft, bouncy flooring.
Yelping in surprise at first, it soon turned into laughter, and TJ bounced happily, Patamon soon joining her.
Mirth and giggles filled the air as the trampoline-ground sent them flying like birds, and TJ rolled when she hit the floor.
Patamon, energized with joy, play-tackled her, and they wrestled along the ground until she was on her back once more.
Almost breathless, she managed to stop laughing, looking towards the clouds hanging above.
"This place is so pretty…"
"What are you doing, TJ?"
"I'm looking at the clouds. See, that one's shaped like an ice cream cone!"
Patamon lay down beside her, studying the cotton balls in the sky.
"Hey, that looks like a banana!"
"And a pirate ship!"
"Strawberries!"
"Hey, that's a heart!"
Both paused at the sight of the last cloud, and gold eyes shadowed over…
"A bat…"
Patamon tickled her cheek with his wing, distracting her, and smiled.
"Come on. We can't just lie here forever, right?"
"Right…"
Smiling slightly in return, TJ sat up, looking around and noticing a tree not too far away...
"Hey, there are toys on there!"
"It's a toy tree!"
Both giggled at the thought, and Patamon was glad she was happy again when a sound reached his ears.
Perking, he turned, trying to zero-in on the noise, which caught TJ's attention.
"Pat?"
"I hear something…It's coming from over there."
"Let's check it out."
Patamon climbed onto her shoulder before TJ jogged towards the source, and she stopped at the sight of earthen cradles.
"Whoa…Are those baby Digimon?"
"Of course."
Crouching beside one, gold eyes widened in awe at the small black, yellow-eyed Digimon nestled within.
"It's so CUTE."
"That's a Botamon."
Carefully reaching in to rub at the small head, she giggled.
"He's so squishy and soft!"
"That's because he was just born."
Another cradle caught their attention, and she peeked inside to see a red, wide-eyed Digimon.
"Whose this?"
"That's Punimon."
"Well, he sure is puny…"
"Look at this one!"
Following Patamon, she smiled at the white-furred, black-eyed baby.
"This is Yuramon."
"She looks like a fluffy puppy!"
As Patamon tickled the Fresh-level Digimon, TJ stood up, looking around for more Digimon babies to see.
Instead, the colorful shells of eggs, each probably up to her knee in height, caught her eye.
"Hey, Pat…What are those?"
The blue-eyed Digimon looked up to see his partner crouched beside a white and gold-striped egg.
"That's a Digiegg!"
"A Digiegg?"
Tilting her head curiously, the golden-eyed girl lifted the Digiegg carefully into her arms.
"You mean Digimon come from eggs?"
"We didn't pop out of the ground."
"Well, where do evil Digimon come from? Or Spirit Evolutions?"
"Spirit Evolutions must be born somewhere else…They don't partner up until they reach the Rookie level."
Plopping down on her behind, she brushed black hair out of her face and looked at the colorful object.
"…So you're all alone?"
"Yeah…"
"…Hey, what's that?"
Patamon picked up the envelope, and smiled.
"It's a note written in Digi-Code. It says 'Rub Gently'."
TJ did just that, her palm rubbing against the surface as she watched it intently.
Cracks began to form, and she almost jumped when the top popped off, revealing a white baby Digimon.
"Whoa…"
"Now we just need to find an empty cradle."
TJ nodded, putting the eggshell down and standing to look for one as well.
A puff of smoke, and they looked down in surprise to see that a cradle had appeared around the Fresh-level Digimon.
"So THAT'S how it works…"
"You didn't know that? But weren't you a baby Digimon once, too?"
"Do you remember everything from when you were a baby, TJ?"
"…Well…"
Her eyes glazed over in memory, flashes of clear blue eyes and dark hair, soft lullabies, shouts, cries, stinging pain…
A clear little voice soothing the ache, the soft feeling of bandages…
"Not really…Just sounds and feelings, mostly…"
A smile crossed her face, and TJ patted his head.
"Besides, at least I know I didn't hatch from an egg!"
"Hey!"
Laughing as she ran, they a short game of tag before Patamon crashed into her shoulder, sending them into a tumbling, giggling mass.
Stopping on their sides, facing each other, they settled down…
"This has been the most fun I've had EVER…"
"Definitely…"
After a moment, TJ sat up, shaking her head so that grass fell free of her hair.
As she began to braid it, she playfully bumped her partner.
"Maybe we could find food around here."
"I hope so!"
Smiling, TJ stood up and waited for her partner to fly onto her head before heading back towards the cradles.
When Patamon perked, she paused, knowing he'd found something…
Seeing his eyes widen, she became concerned…
"Pat…?"
"Get down!"
Yelping as he shoved her to the ground, she hit the ground a moment before lightning zoomed past them.
"What are you doing here?"
An older girl demanded, with bright blue eyes and red electric-like designs around her lids.
Dark blue hair fell around her shoulders, and a reptilian tail swayed behind her dangerously.
Her partner jumped to her side, tail tense as he glared along with his Spirit Evolution.
"We were just…"
"You were just trespassing and playing with our babies!"
TJ blinked at the interruption, feeling Patamon tense at the tone in the Digimon's voice.
"We DID play with them…But we didn't hurt them."
"You shouldn't have touched them at all." The girl snapped.
TJ almost shrank into herself, reminded of her mother when she was angry…
"I'm sorry…"
"There's nothing to apologize for." Patamon insisted, glaring angrily at the pair that had taken his partner's happiness.
"They're just being bossy."
The red Digimon bristled at the jibe, and TJ tensed at the electricity filling the air…
"Pat…"
"Why you little-!"
"Elecmon."
It seemed neither Digimon was listening, so they faced each other as if to attack.
"Pat-!"
They charged, striking each other in midair and beginning to wrestle.
Crying out at the feeling of being struck, TJ stumbled back, tearing up as repressed memories bubbled to the surface.
"Pat! Pat, stop it!"
The other girl seemed to dislike this course of action as well, glaring after the warring Digimon.
"Elecmon, stop that this instant."
Patamon bounced away from his opponent, spinning away from his tackle.
"Boom Bubble!"
Elecmon dodged the attack, fur charging up before he caught Patamon in a bear hug, shocking him.
Falling onto her behind at the foreign pain, TJ almost sniffled, throat threatening to close as gold light began to glow behind her lids…
'No…Pat's fighting is going to make us both change…'
It was too much, it wasn't right, they had to stop…
"STOP!!!"
Everything froze at the echo of her shout, and Patamon pulled away from Elecmon to see the tears in her eyes.
"TJ!"
Flying over to her as quickly as his wings would allow, the orange-furred, blue-eyed Digimon landed on her lap, wiping away her tears.
"TJ, are you okay?"
Nodding now that the light no longer burned behind her eyes, she released a shaky breath…
"Yeah…"
Lifting herself up, TJ rubbed at her eyes to stop more tears from falling as Patamon climbed onto her shoulder.
"Fighting isn't going to solve anything…It's only going to cause MORE trouble…"
"She's right." The reptile-girl agreed, looking pointedly at her partner.
"Sorry, Dragontail…"
He glared at the other pair, clearly still ticked off…
"But what do YOU suggest we do about this?"
Patamon almost bristled at the harsh question pointed at his partner, but TJ put a hand on his head.
"Well, if you're going to fight, you have to do it the right way."
"And what way is that?"
She smiled slightly, and shared a glance with Patamon…
"I know just the thing…"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sky was aflame with pink and gold shades as TJ straightened out the rope, looking between the two Digimon.
Both seemed eager enough to start, pent-up energy ready to be released, while Dragontail sat off to the side calmly.
She was making sure the baby Digimon didn't get too close, lest they get hurt, and watching the proceedings with mild curiosity.
Standing up straight, the gold-eyed girl beamed, backing away a bit.
"The rules of Tug-Of-War are simple. You guys pull on opposite ends of the rope, and the first one to pull the other over this line wins."
Both Digimon nodded, intent on their goal…
"Alright, then."
Stepping out of the 'danger zone', she held up her hand, three fingers free.
"Three…Two…"
Patamon tensed, ready to rush forward and grab the rope in his mouth…
"GO!"
Both were blurs for a moment, stopping only because the force of the others pulling forced them to a halt.
TJ watched anxiously, seeing the rope vibrate with strain…
Dragontail sat up straighter, interested at the force going through her bond, and watched her partner inquisitively.
Elecmon seemed to dig into the soft ground, and Patamon was beginning to lose his footing…
"Come on, Pat…I know you can do it…" TJ whispered, knuckles white as her hands were clasped together…
Patamon felt her faith rushing through their bond, and just knowing she believed in him gave the Digimon a burst of strength.
Finding his ground, Patamon pulled the rope so harshly that it seemed ready to snap before Elecmon lost his grip…
The rope snapped back to its original length, and the force sent him flying through the air.
Dragontail seemed to wince as he struck one of the feather-stuffed blocked buildings, and everyone looked up to see if he was alright…
The Spirit Evolution smiled faintly, shaking her head in amusement…
"He's fine."
Popping out as feathers fell through the air, Elecmon shook out his fur.
"Fine, you win!"
Beaming, TJ caught her partner in a hug, spinning on her heels.
"I knew you could do it, Pat! I just knew it!"
As Elecmon joined them, Dragontail stood up, the baby Digimon at her heels.
"I should apologize for my partner's rash actions. He can be a bit…impulsive at times."
"It's alright. We had fun, didn't we?"
"Yeah, we did!" Patamon agreed.
"You are the champion of Tug-Of-War, I'll give you that."
It seemed all ill feelings had disappeared, and they were like old friends getting to know each other.
"We didn't mean to be so rough with you."
"We had been expecting a fight, and I guess…"
"We took it out on you. We're sorry."
"We forgive you. Right, Pat?"
"No hard feelings."
"It's been a while since we've been with anyone other than the babies, and I suppose we didn't expect it." Dragontail admitted, playing with the crimson and blue-designed appendage.
"Well, the best part of friendship is laughing. We laugh all the time, and it's awesome."
"It's like you're a balloon and you can't stop, but it's so much fun!"
Elecmon seemed to pause, sharing a glance with his partner before grinning.
"That's it!"
"What's it?"
Dragontail grinned, crouching down to pat her partner's head.
"You really think so?"
"Think what?"
"It's worth a shot, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"I suppose so…"
"HELLO? What idea?"
They looked up at the confused faces of TJ and Patamon, sharing a happy expression.
"An idea to restore the island."
"I can't believe we didn't think of it before!"
"Really? What's the idea?" TJ inquired.
"It's about being friends!"
"We can use the power of friendship to restore the island."
"Wow…You can do that?"
"Of course we can." Dragontail assured.
"We'd better go to the Yokomon village and tell them."
"You'll watch the babies for us, won't you?"
"Of course!"
"Go on! Have some fun!"
Waving goodbye to their new friends, TJ turned to the baby Digimon once their caretakers were out of sight.
"Alright, it's time for some fun! What do you guys want to play?"
The little creatures bounced around, demanding attention, and she giggled, plopping down to be at their level.
"Alright, alright! I get it!"
Patamon watched his partner interact with the babies, and marveled at the way she held herself.
TJ had seemed a bit more immature, bubbly and outgoing, but she seemed to grow up just a bit right before his eyes.
She was in control, caring and gentle…
It was a new side of her, a part of the whole he'd never seen before, and Patamon was sure he liked it.
The Fresh-level Digimon seemed to like it as well, with the way they were jumping and chattering…
A Botamon jumped into her lap, and TJ laughed as she pet his soft black fur.
"You guys sure are excitable." She teased.
The Botamon seemed to vibrate, and everything seemed to hold it's breathe when there was a poof of smoke.
Blinking at the bright red eyes of a Koromon, TJ grinned.
"So Agumon was a Botamon when he was a baby! I never would have guessed!"
"Hi, I'm Koromon!"
"Hello, Koromon!" The other Digimon echoed.
"Congratulations on Digivolving." TJ added.
"Congratulations!"
Seeing the glow coming from her features, Patamon's ears drooped…
'Maybe she'd be happier if I Digivolved, too…'
"TJ, I'm your Digimon, remember? I'll Digivolve someday, too."
"I know. Don't you want to?"
Patamon tilted his head, looking unsure…
"Not really…"
"Why? Don't you want to change, too?"
"Nope!"
Beaming, he cuddled into his partner's side, enjoying the warmth.
"I want to stay like this with you forever, remember?"
"Yeah…I remember…"
Practically shining like a sun, TJ embraced her Digimon.
"Friends forever, right?"
"Friends forever."
A chill raced up her spine, and TJ straightened a bit, subconsciously sensing danger…
'What danger?'